“Acquiring BlackBerry is necrophilia,” he told the Times in an email. “The BB brand is tarnished… this former BB fan is sad.”

Gassée isn’t the only industry observer who thinks that BlackBerry will be hard-pressed to find a buyer. The Times also quotes Tim Long, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets, who wrote in a research note that “we don’t foresee any scenarios where the value of the company will be significantly larger” in the coming months.